The local Home Depot had a carnival. The kiddos had fun building and painting a flower pot with Daddy. They then played some games and looked at animals with Mema and Mommy. At the end we all climbed into a firetruck - although Sammy did not seem too happy about it...   
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Lizzy's dance class had a dance recital this past Saturday. The theme was "A Princess Ball with the King." Each dance troupe was a different Disney princess (how fitting with our recent trip to Disney). Lizzy' s class was Snow White. She danced to two songs - one song from the Snow White movie and the other to "Let it Snow." Afterward Santa was there to give all the dancers a trophey. Lizzy was so happy that he Mema as well as her friend Isa were there to watch.  Pracitcing before the show.  Meeting Santa for her trophy.  Mema gave her flowers after the show.
We flew to Florida on Sat Dec 10 to go to Disney World with Mema, Aunt Deb, Uncle Ed, and cousin Joey. We spent 3 days at the Magic Kingdom, 1 day at Epcot, and 1 day at Hollywood Studios. The kiddos LOVED it, which made the rest of us love it too (even if pushing 70 pounds of kiddos in the stroller at day 5 was farily tiring...). Below are a few highlight pictures. I am also going to create a new page showing many more pictures. When it is done you will be able to access it on one of the tabs below the above picture.  The whole family at the entrance to the magic kingdom on our first day. It truly was the trip of magical memories!  Sammy patiently (!) waiting for the tea cup ride to begin.  Lizzy meeting Cinderalla. She also met Ariel and Belle.  Mema, Aunt Deb, and cousin Joey on the tea cups.  Mema, Lizzy, and Sammy at the "Finding Nemo" exhibit at Epcot.
We escaped the Valley of the Sun and went to the zoo about an hour and half north of town. The weather was still warm, but much better than here. We also got to go on a neat safari ride. Sammy, Tim, and Mema all had fun feeding the giraffes. Lizzy was scared and threw her carrot out the window... Sam dropped his out the window, so he used mine.      Mema was here for the past ten days. We had so much fun together - shopping, swimming, and just hanging out. Mema even took over daycare duty while I was at work - and yes, she survived!  On Mema's most recent stay here we spent a day in the "wildwest" or Carefree AZ.    We were so lucky to have Mema in town the last few weeks. We had a great time playing and just being together. Mema spent a lot of time with the kids - Lizzy even spent the night at the condo a few times. The last few days of her trip Jerry and Trudy (some friends from her church in MI) also were in town. Here are some pictures from the morning we spent at the Train Park. I went off to work and the "three grandparents" took the kids to meet Tim for lunch.  Lizzy and Sammy playing on the slide at the train park  Trudy, Me, Sam, Mema, and Liz on the train.  Mema and Lizzy on the train.  Jerry, Trudy, Sammy, and me on the train.  Tim and the kiddos at lunch.  Sammy was exhausted from all the playing - so he took a nap through most of lunch!
We drove 15 hours from Scottsdale to Austin to spend Christmas with Deb, Ed, Joey, and Mema (who flew in from MI). Here are some highlights of Christmas Day.       Mema was in town for Thankgiving. This is the first Thanksgiving in a few years that we celebrated with family, and we really enjoyed it. Mema made it easy to host as she cooked most of the food (even the turkey) at our house! While the bird was cooking we took a walk to the park and played. The kids did great, but our fairly fat and old dog Brandy could not make it back on her own! She ended up either being carried by Tim or sitting on Lizzy's lap in the stroller!  Tim and the kiddos on a bench at the park.  Mema and Lizzy on the walking path. Lizzy did not want her picture taken!  Brandy takes a break and rides in the stroller with the kids....  Brandy takes another break and is carred by Tim. Our young dog Haley had no problems and could have walked for hours...
Liz, Sam, and I flew to TX for a short weekend to help Deb make the final preparations before the baby arrived. We had a nice time visiting with Deb, Ed, and Mema. Lizzy was still not feeling well and most mornings were spent comforting her, but by afternoon she would feel better.  Aunt "Dub" helps Lizzy makes friends with the neighbor girl.  Lizzy and Sammy enjoy some bongo drum music on the backporch.  Sam's favorite toy on the trip was the dust bucket... He would spend an hour or more just dragging the thing around the backporch!  Sam enjoyed the fall display in his aunt and uncle's front yard.  Lizzy takes a ride on the pony at the outlet mall (50 cents instead of a penny like at Meijers in MI!).  Mema enjoying the fresh air in the front yard.
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